September 16, 2012

Catching Up With September

It is halfway through the month of September and I haven't even written about August yet.  I will put that off just a bit longer as I write about this month's events.

It was great weather to get a few things done outside.  Ryan "helped" my mom clean things by rinsing them off with water.  He cleaned just about anything he could find, including himself.  That child loves playing with water!  I don't know that he was really much help, but he had a great time and was not in the way.

 Justin worked on a project with my dad.  The two of them waterproofed the ladder.  Justin had an interesting technique and it often looked like he was dancing more than painting.  He had a blast though and my dad was able to finish up the project.

 September meant the end of the summer and Justin's first year of school.  He had been really nervous in August when we went in for the kindergarten screening.  By the time we went in to the meet the teacher event he was feeling more confident.  On the first day, he was ready to go.  I was lucky I got a picture of him before we left.  He was one anxious boy!

 After school he told me that it was probably the best day of his life.  Off to a good start!  Since then it has been an up and down ride.  Evidently he doesn't like that he can't do whatever he wants whenever he wants.  The teacher even makes them walk in a line instead of trampling around the school like a herd.  The nerve!

 

 

 

 Justin also started soccer.  I was worried that it would be competitive and the kids would have a lot of experience.  I was thrilled to see parents trying to figure out shin guards and kids who asked the coach if they got to go play in the dirt when they were done.  His coach is a gem.  She is a high school student who played Park and Rec soccer all through elementary school and she is really good with the kids.  The first game will be this week.  We will see if Justin is able to keep his cool.  I have been proud of him at the practices.  He has been a good sport when he does well and also when he does not do so well.

While the weather is good we have been trying to get out and take advantage of all of the playgrounds here.  We missed having such nice playgrounds in Namibia.  This playground is at Justin's school, and is perfect for weekend play because it is not as crowded as some of the other more popular playgrounds are.  Ryan enjoys getting the chance to play at Justin's school too.

Although Ryan stopped taking naps long ago, sometimes he still gets worn out.  I always hate when he takes a nap because it means he will be up late.  This nap lasted all of about twenty minutes, but it meant he was up three hours past his bedtime.  He still woke up at the same time the next morning and was a bit cranky.  Who would have guessed I would see naps as an enemy?

 I didn't want Ryan to feel left out, so I signed him up for soccer too.  His group meets once a week on Saturday mornings.  It was such a joy to watch the three year olds run around with so much energy and so little skill.  They had a blast!  The instructors are from the college soccer team.  At one point they were trying to get a 3 on 3 game going with the 7 in Ryan's group.  They wanted to make sure everyone got equal play.  Another mother and I said we thought it would be fine to have four on one team and three on another.  Sure enough, that seemed to work fine.  Sometimes there were multiple goalies, sometimes more than one ball on the field, and frequently there was rolling around on the grass, but the kids had a lot of fun.  Ryan is so excited to have shin guards and a soccer shirt like his brother.

  Ryan doesn't like to do much without his brother.  I was able to get him to go out on his bike with me.  I need to find a better place because there are too many hills when we go around the block.  I was either pulling him or trying to slow him down.  He had a good time, but I was sore by the time we got back.

We miss Rob and can't wait for him to finish up in Namibia and join us here.  In the meantime, it is pretty routine with school, soccer, library, and playing.  The boys are having a wonderful time with Grandma.  She is spoiling me too!  :)

Guess what Tiny has been enjoying lately? That's right, he loves the swing. Justin likes to make sure I know that Tiny is just a baby and can't go fast like he can. Justin constantly reminds me that even though Ryan is getting bigger, he is still just a tiny baby. Justin, on the other hand, is medium. When he can't do something by himself, he is "too medium" and not too small or too little or any of the more common things children tend to say. Luckily, Justin agrees that Ryan is big enough to swing so everyone is happy.

Justin and Ryan seem to like each other. They can already crack each other up and seem to like to be on top of each other, hitting at each other, squealing at each other... Justin gets so mad when Tiny kicks him or pulls his hair. He doesn't seem to find it fair that Ryan doesn't get punished for actions that are off limits to Justin. To protest, he will often go into baby mode. He will lie on his back and say, "Goo Goo! Ga Ga! I'm a baby!" That lasts until it is no longer convenient to be a baby. Lucky me.

Since we are moving early in September, we are not bothering to work on the whole toilet training thing with Justin yet. What's the point? Leaving here and then traveling to various homes and hotels across the US before a hellish day (as in about 24 hours) of flying to our new home in Namibia. We will worry about it there. Well, Justin has started showing interest in poopies. He wants to see his, the baby's, anyone's. He will rate them in terms of color and size. He will tell me he is having one and that he doesn't want to sit on the toilet. Once he is finished he does want to sit on the toilet so I don't have to put on a clean diaper. Doesn't work that way though. Sometimes he requests to sit on the toilet. Yesterday he said he needed to sit on the toilet and he actually had to pee. He was so excited. Great. We will probably be missing our toilet training window of opportunity and our child will be a freak and need therapy. Just one of many ways I will screw him up for life. Good thing I have a second child to try to get it right--or at least better. :)

Justin came home from school on Friday looking just exhausted. He fell asleep almost immediately, and when he woke up he asked for water. He had a temp of just over 103. He drank and drank and continued to run a fever unless he was on motrin. He didn't have much of an appetite and was extremely needy, but nothing else seemed to be wrong. It just made for a long weekend. Sunday afternoon he seemed better, but since he didn't sleep well, I am keeping him home from school today. I am very disappointed. He had a slight fever again this morning, but is acting pretty normal. He is tired of being cooped up and is quite obnoxious.

Meanwhile, Tiny's two top teeth finally broke through last week. I swear they were the slowest teeth in the history of baby teeth. He had a HORRIBLE night last night and I had no idea why. Surprise! This morning I looked in his mouth and it looks like he is getting FOUR more. Two more on top and two more on bottom. It is going to be a very, very long week I fear. He hasn't been nursing well and I end up smelling like sour milk as my clothes get soaked with milk he is crying for and then rejecting. Ah, motherhood.

Guess I better tend to the whiners. Not that I can do anything to soothe them right now, but at least I won't feel as guilty if I am trying.

Pictures, Video, and a Pretty Good Week!

What a great week! Justin started the toddler summer camp program and he loves it. I probably love it even more. Too bad it is only 9 to 12 and not full day or sleep over. ;) Every morning when he wakes up, Justin makes sure to tell us that he has energy and is ready to go to school. Too bad he still wakes up around 5:00 AM. We have tried to convince him to sleep later, but he just isn't interested in sleep. Can't be my child.
Justin's "school" begins each morning at the wading pool. It is easy to convince Justin to get ready for the pool every morning. If only everything could be so easy with him.

The playground also reopened this week. Thank goodness! After school, Justin has lunch and a nap before we head back outside. He is enjoying the new equipment. He is still an outdoorsy kind of kid though and spends about as much time in the dirt and the sticks as he does with the playground equipment.

Tiny continues to be my ravenous beast. He loves his solid foods! So different from Justin at this age. He enjoys his foot too. I find green beans, peas, sweet potatoes, carrots, and squash on his legs, feet, socks, ear... That baby food sure gets all over.

Tiny loves playing with Justin's toys. I suppose it is only fair since Justin is constantly taking Tiny's toys away or trading them out with Tiny and insisting that the trade is mutually agreeable. It is a good thing that Ryan is such a good natured little guy. He is starting to protest sometimes though. I don't blame him. Not only does Justin take things away from Tiny because they are "for grown-ups, not babies" but he sometimes finds that he NEEDS to play with Tiny's rattle or other baby toy.

This is a very LONG clip, so if you aren't Grandma, you might want to go ahead and just skip it.

My friend, Erin, gave me a little push car that her daughter has outgrown. Ryan loves it, but so does Justin. I am able to give Ryan some time with it while Justin is away at school.